College Admissions Question and Answer, Volume 2

College Admissions Question and Answer, Volume 2 addresses the importance of AP exam results, choosing a major and transferring.

Question #4: How important are AP [Advanced Placement] exam results to colleges? Do the results affect their decision on acceptance if one does poorly? By the way, I am asking this prior to opening my AP grades…

Answer: Scores on AP exams matter. The AP exam is the standard certification that shows how well you know a subject. Scoring 3 or higher shows colleges that you can handle college-level work, and highly-selective schools [like the Ivies] take few risks on admitting students who may or may not be able to complete a degree.

Having said that, not getting at least a 3 on an AP exam isn’t the end of the world. There are lots of reasons that students don’t get 3+, and those reasons range from having bad a teacher in that specific subject to being overwhelmed by taking too many challenging courses. Colleges understand that even smart, high-achieving students pull a stinker now and again. And remember – many students take AP courses without even taking the exam, so at least you took the tests.

AP exam scores are less important than other indicators of your abilities – namely grades [which seem to be becoming even more important as an indicator of your future academic success]. So, if you open your envelope and find high scores, well done – you’ll test out of some courses and get a few extra credits. If you fall short of a 3, you might have to take more intro. courses than you’d like, but you’ll still be at a top-tier school.

Question #5: What is a good college major for me?

• I don’t want to teach
• I’m okay with the sciences (physical and social)
• I’m average in math
• I am good at the arts (but I don’t know how competitive that market is)
• I have good reading comprehension

Answer: First, I have to assume that you aren’t currently a college student. If you are, you should talk to your best professors – not necessarily your academic advisers – about possible majors.

There are lots of majors that might interest you and fit your best qualities. Though all I know about you comes from the details you listed in your question, I would suggest choosing a college with a strong liberal arts program that will give you the skills you need to succeed in any course of study.

Undergraduate education is mostly about basic skills – it’s about honing your reading, writing, thinking and analytical skills [unless you're in a major that requires highly-specific skills like certain labwork or advanced foreign language study]. You can develop all of these in almost any undergraduate discipline.

If you go to a large university, you can spend a year in a liberal arts program with an undeclared major – along the way you can decide what track you’d like to take. If you decide that you want to transfer to another college/school within that university, you can do it [providing you meet whatever requirements they have]. That way if you decide to focus on management [as an example] after your freshman year, you can transfer into the appropriate school and have most of your required liberal arts courses taken care of already.

You have lots and lots of options. If you don’t want to narrow it down to one thing, remember that your options include double majoring, adding minor concentrations, or even combining two disciplines into one course of study.

I’d talk to good teachers you’ve had and generally successful people to ask what they think. If you can, take a course or two at a local college or community college – it’ll help you decide what you do and don’t enjoy. In short, gather as much information as you can and you’ll find that choosing a college major is easier than it seems right now.

Question #6: Would I have a chance of getting into Boston University as a transfer student?

I graduated from a very prestigious high school with mediocre grades (mostly Bs, some As, one or two Cs in freshman year). I got 1800 on my SAT with high scores in English and Writing and a below average score in math. I went on to go to the University of New Hampshire and did pretty well there. I took 8 classes, and recieved 2 As, 1 A-, 3 Bs, 1 B-, and 1 C-. I am very concerned about the C-. Do you think I would have a chance in getting into Boston University as a transfer student? I have 3 family members that currently go there and I have strong recommendations from both high school and college. Do I have a chance or is it not worth my time to apply?

Answer: In the interest of full disclosure here, you should know that I got my degrees from Boston University.

It sounds as though your pre-college transcript is worth consideration and your coursework at UNH was decent [your GPA is slightly below the cum laude cutoff, but not by too much].

In terms of your UNH grades, the C- isn’t necessarily a big deal, though if your C- was in Calculus and you’re trying to transfer to BU’s College of Engineering, it’s not so hot. I assume the poor grade was in a difficult class outside of the area you’ll focus on. Even if it’s in the area you want to study, it’s not necessarily a deal-breaker – I’d just write an addendum to the transfer application that explains why it was a C-.

The recommendations are very important, especially from professors at UNH – they mean a great deal more than any number of family members currently attending. My advice would be to choose a specific program/course of study at Boston University. You will be able to make a much stronger case by saying, “You have an excellent program in _______ that I can’t get anywhere else,” than just presenting yourself as someone who didn’t like their first school and is looking for something better.

To sum this up, it’s absolutely worth your time to apply. Not only does it sound like you can make a good case for admission, but you should also apply even if it’s a long-shot. Isn’t it worth spending $70 or so on a transfer application just for the peace of mind you’ll have when you’ll stop wondering, “What if…?”

Hopefully in a few years you’ll be a fellow alum. Good luck!

If you have a question about college or graduate school admissions, e-mail mktabor@gmail.com for inclusion in future columns.

For more College Admissions Q&A, visit the archives.